Stay With Me
by SongsofPsyche1945
Summary: Doc looks after an injured and traumatized 10K as the gang continues to fight their way to California. Oneshot
1. Chapter 1

He was never the same after that night—the one where they found him naked huddled in the cage with chains on his wrists and scars on his back. It had taken them a week to track him down, one whole week to find those bastards who took him and do god knows what to him. Too long, in Doc's mind. By the time they got there, killed all the men, gave mercy to all the Zs, unlocked the cage, 10k—Tommy—their friend was gone, lost in the trauma that he had endured from the week he spent in hell. He looked at them with empty, shattered eyes and despite their many pleas refused to speak them, to tell them what happened. Doc knew better though, he knew what it was like to be wrapped up in your own personal hell, unable to stop watching the endless flashes of memories like a movie that would never end. He knew that it would just take time, and when the kid was ready to talk about it, he would. He was a strong kid, Doc knew he would pull through this and he tried as hard as he could to help him. It was hard though, when a single touch triggered a panic attack, or when a loud noise would make him shake and shiver to watch such a strong soul be taken over by fear. It made Doc''s heart ache just to think about it.

They had somehow acquired an RV, a fancy one with two separate bedrooms, a bathtub and a full kitchen. They had been ever more pleased when they found the storage of gas in one of the linen closets—two full containers! Not enough to get them to California, but enough for them to relax for the next couple of days.

"Man, this is a swanky trailer." Doc commented as he walked through the door, a 10k sized shadow lurking behind him.

Roberta smiled, "It must have cost—what $3 million?"

Doc nodded, "You can sit down here, if you'd like. No Z's anywhere as far as we can tell." He told the kid softly, pulling out a chair.

10k sat, wincing softly. Doc knew the whipping scars on his back still hurt him, and he hoped that this trailer contained a good first aid kit. They had ran out of bandages two days ago.

"$4.6 mill, man I would have killed for something like this. A mobile mansion." Murphy responded, then he sat down and put his feet up on the table. 10k winced at the bang they made as they hit the table.

"Get your dirty ass feet off of there. You may be the secret to saving humanity but that gives you no excuse not to be nasty." Roberta growled and shoved his feet off.

Murphy rolled his eyes.

"Fine…..I call the bedroom!" he shouted and then he darted up from the table and scrambled towards the first bedroom, nearly knocking Maddy over in the process.

"Slow down, jerk!" she mumbled, she looked up at Doc and gave him a small smile.

"How's 10k?" she asked

Doc shrugged, the kid had been as quiet and refrained as usual, "Today's been going okay." He said quietly, and he could tell how sad Maddy was to see her friend like his. She-like all of them-wished that he would speak to them, but he was as silent as ever.

"Find a first aid kit?" he asked her

Maddy shook her head, "not in the bathroom, but there might be one up here-." She opened up another drawer, and then the drawer next to it.

"Bingo!" she exclaimed, holding up the kit.

Doc smiled, "That's great, we were running low on supplies."

He walked over, took it and opened it on the table. "Whoa." He said

Inside—just like the RV—was everything a doctor would need and more. Doc saw several prescription bottles and two full bottles of aspirin. Best of all though, was a syringe and two tiny vials of penicillin—an antibiotic that 10K desperately needed. Some of the cuts were starting to get infected from the heat and lack of clean bandages. And there were other wounds, wounds that 10K fought hard to hide, that he was ashamed of.

Internal wounds.

"Oxytocin and Vicodin. We really are rich!" he laughed, shaking the bottles.

Maddy smiled, "Don't let Murphy see those." She whispered.

"Kid." Doc said, and he waited patiently for 10k to look in his direction—he rarely looked anybody in the eye anymore.

"Let's go patch up your back with these new bandages." He said, and again he waited for 10k to respond. 10k nodded and then slowly stood up, wincing again as he gripped the table.

Maddy looked up at doc, "He's getting worse"

He had been fighting a fever all morning, but now out of the sun he looked paler than ever.

Doc nodded.

"The penicillin will help." He answered.

Maddy nodded, "Let me know if you need anything."

Doc nodded, then lead 10k into the second bedroom. He motioned for the kid to sit on the bed, and 10k all but collapsed onto the white covers.

"You're going to be okay. We got you this far. It's going tot be okay." Doc told him. 10K nodded briefly before curling over on his side.

Doc quickly prepped the syringe for the penicillin, but he hesitated, hands hovering above the kid's sleeve. One thing they did know about 10k was that he hated being touched, and would flinch away from them. He hated being touched before he had been kidnapped, but now it was worse.

"I'm going to role up your sleeve, for the shot." Doc told him softly, and waited for a nod before he gently rolled the sleeve up, being careful not to touch the skin underneath. Doc winced at the still healing cuts and bruises that were left by the cuffs that had chained him to the wall of the cage.

"A little sting now, but you'll be okay. It'll help you get better." Doc told him as he gave him the shot. 10k winced, but remained still until Doc was done.

"Can you role on your stomach for me? I'm going to change the bandages on your back now." Doc said, and the kid did so. He would follow direct orders, most of the time without a fuss. Doc pulled up the thin shirt that was covering the kid's back. He tried not to wince as he inspected the dozen or so whipping lashes that were strung across 10k's back. Doc had managed to stitch some of them up and bandage them but that had been almost three days ago, the day they ran out of clean bandages. Now the once white strips were brown and bloody. Doc carefully pulled them off.

"Sorry, sorry" he mumbled as 10k winced.

Doc tended to the cuts as quickly as possible, knowing that the alcohol swaps and disinfectant creams stung like crazy.

"You're gonna be okay, kid. It's okay. Your okay." He kept up a steady stream of reassurances as he covered the cuts with new bandages.

Once he was done, and he had pull the shirt back down over his back, 10k rolled over onto his side, pulling his arms and legs in close to his chest.

Doc rummaged through the first aid kit and found another little vial with "Morphine" printed neatly on the label.

"One more shot, Kid. Okay? This one will help with the pain." He said quietly.

10k's eyes were closed, but Doc though he saw the kid nod just a bit. Doc quickly administered the shot and winced as the kid flinched at his gently touch.

Then Doc felt the rumble of the RV as the engine came to life, and then the sweet relief of air conditioner as it flowed through the vents.

"Ahhhhh god bless the wealthy." Doc sighed, feeling the cool air ripple past his face. He watched the kid for a second, 10k had felt the AC too and for the first time in a long while, was looking at Doc.

"This is a plush trailer, isn't it, kid? We're really living the life now." Doc asked softly.

10k nodded, and finally….finally since they had found him, he reached for Doc, grasping clumsily at his hand as the morphine took an affect on him and even though he didn't say a word Doc knew what he meant.

"It's going to be okay, Kid. I'm not going anywhere."

Doc sighed and stared out through the window, at the broken world passing him by.

They had a long way to go, but somehow they would make it.

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Thanks so much for reading! I love Z Nation, especially the relationship between 10k and Doc. I'm so excited for the new season! Please leave and comment and tell me what you thought. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

A few weeks had passed, and they had long since given up on the RV. Doc wasn't the only one who was sad to see it go, Murphy was still complaining about it. Even though it had totally been his fault that they lost it. If he hadn't turned on the HD surround sound outdoor speakers to blast Highway to Hell by ACDC, the he wouldn't have attracted that roaming herd of Zs that were wandering through the woods. Despite the dire consequences though, the look on Roberta's face when the music went off was so fill of fury and astonishment that it had made 10k laugh—something he hadn't done since he had been rescued. So it wasn't an entire loss.

The kid has been as quiet and reserved as ever. He still hadn't spoken a word despite Doc's many attempts to get him to try. He still flinched at the slightest touch and at unexpected noises. He still hated being in close contact with anyone besides Doc, and he still refused to look any of them in the eye. On occasion, if the right mood struck him, he would respond to written questions, which was where Doc found himself now, sitting in an abandoned cabin that they had found with the windows all boarded up, a large fireplace and a pantry of canned food. Doc was sitting on the moldy couch, passing a notebook to 10K and praying that the kid was in the right state to answer his questions. He bit his lip as he watched 10K read his question (How are you feeling today?). The kid clicked the pen open and wrote something briefly, then passed it back over to him. Doc read the response:

 _I'm fine._

He looked up from the paper and raised his eyebrows at him.

"You gotta give me something more than just that, Kiddo. For real now, how are you? Does anything hurt?" he asked, passing him back the pen and paper.

10K sighed, studied his fingernails for a moment, and then wrote:

 _My back hurts a little, but really, I am fine._

"That's better. I can get you something for the pain. Thanks, Kid." Doc said, knowing that was all he was going to get from him for now. He reached into his bag for the little bottle of painkillers and shook one out of his hand.

"What did you have for lunch?" Doc asked, 10K shrugged

"What did you have for breakfast?"

Another shrug.

"Have you eaten anything today?"

Another shrug, and then a slight shake of his head.

"I'll go whip you up something before you take this, it's never good on an empty stomach." Doc said, and then he stood up. He walked over to the pantry, and opened the door to find a very concerned Roberta looking at the shelves.

"Spam and pickled radishes. That's all I can find. Who in the world would just eat Spam and pickled radishes? Hell, I think I'd rather be hungry." She grumbled, glaring at the offending cans.

"Welcome to the apocalypse, where you can't afford to be picky. Just close your eyes and imagine it's bacon and…."

Doc jogged his mind, trying to think of a way to make pickled radishes more appetizing and failing.

"More bacon…if we fry up the spam it shouldn't be so bad, especially with the bread Maddy found yesterday."

"How come you're always so positive, Doc? It's revolting." Roberta asked, sending him a glare, but then her gaze softened.

"How's the kid?"

Doc paused, how was 10K? Better, maybe. Completely healed? Far from. He still had nightmares where he would jolt awake in a panic, shaking and shivering and refusing to let Doc touch him, or even get near him. He was still in pain, even though the whipping scars on his back had almost healed completely. Doc suspected broken ribs, and wore. The kid absolutely refused a full examination though, so it was hard to tell for sure what was really broken. Doc was more worried about his mind and spirit though. He had seen patients who suffered from anxiety and post traumatic stress, and he knew the signs. They didn't have the meds to help him with that though. Doc had no idea where they would even find them. The kid would have to heal on his own, and being in a zombie apocalypse wasn't helping very much.

"He's doing alright, a bit better than before" he answered.

Roberta nodded her head, "You're the best thing for him. Thank you for taking care of him. I still can't imagine what they did to him. It still haunts me, what we found-." She cut off and shook her head.

Doc knew she was remembering they day they had rescued him. They men who had taken him had been sick animals, and doc knew Roberta had killed them all with vengeance on her mind.

"We got him out of that place. That's all that matters. He's a strong kind, I know he is. He'll pull through." Doc said

"He better, we need out sniper back. And….and he's gotta get to ten thousand Zs. He just has to-." Roberta broke away, he eyes suddenly glassy.

Doc pulled her into a hug.

"We will….he will."

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Just a small continuation in celebration of Season 3. I am so grateful for all the reviews and love I have received this week. Thank you so much! I really hope 10K is in the new season, he better be.

Thanks for reading, and as always please leave a review!


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